Photographer's Note

History says that the emperor who built the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan was held captive in the Agra Fort across the Yamuna river. As most of you know, the Taj was built in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. He used to see the reflection of the Taj in his diamond ring during his captivity.

I took this from the mosque adjacent to the Taj Mahal. The Taj has two mosques on its two sides. This is one of them, the river that you see here is river Yamuna.

The setting sun and the fading light made the atmosphere melancholic, and I somehow could see the old and helpless emperor looking at his ring and remembering his love.

Hi Shaeri,
A very beautiful photo with a great orange sky. The silhouette of the tower looks wonderful and it's placed well in the composition. I also like the hazy look of the town in the background. Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

Wonderful shot! The silhoette of the building is very good, and gives a nice foreground element to show off the sky in the background. I like the colour very much too, very warm and inviting. Well done!

Hi Shaeri
WOW! Nice shot. These fabulous structures look so nice as a silhouette. I see you like the orange sky as well. Whenever I see shots of this area and the Taj it reminds me of the Yanni concert that he had there some years back.
Well done.
Phil

Hi Shaeri,
I really like the simplicity of this image.....the interesting silhouette of the mosque against the orange coloured background which includes just enough detail to enhance the photo. Well captured.
Cheers Grant

Hi Shaeri,
Wow ... perfectly captured and composed. The lighting in the silhouette is so well balance that the details of the temple is still very visible. Not much to say here but this is just awesome ... postcard quality. Excellent work! tfs and have a nice weekend.
Cheers,
Renier

Hi, Shaeri,
this is wonderful! The warm golden tones, the silhouette of the tower perfectly placed, the feeling it has. Your note is so right, too, there is a feeling of melancholy about it. This is beautifully done. Many thanks and warmest wishes,
Shelly

Hi Shaeri,
You wrote that my post of Pashupatinath brought you some good memories of the place. Maybe telepathy has something to do with your decision to post this one, which brings me back some pleasant memories, of when I visited Agra exactly 10 years before you took this one. That typically Mughal tower is dreamy at every hour of the day, but at sunset it is just fabulous. The compo is spotless, the warm orange tones are very well captured. It's a bit pity that the silhouette isn't a bit crisper, but that is just a picky detail. I thought that both monuments were farther apart them what it looks here; I guess you used 70mm, but I thought that it wouldn't be enough to get such a POV. Is this a crop?
Gee! I could also have gotten a photo like this, as I spent a whole afternoon in the Taj, being one of the last visitors to leave. :-)
Regards, José.

Hello Shaeri
Yes Taj is beautiful & so is your picture. An original view with the colours excellent. Well placed the silhouette of this chhatri off-centre to make this excellent compo. Good work!
Best Wishes
Angshumanda

Hi Shaeri,
Sorry for the late critique. Wonderful shot. Whats really fascibating is that you kept the mood of the sunset without keeping the setting sun in frame. Probably shot this after the sun had set, isnt it? Nice view of the minarette, the dome at the top(probably called chhatri)looks majestic.
The mood of the shot goes very well with the note.
Regards,
Sagarneel.

Reading the Note itself is already creating a mood in the reader, and to go with the view by effective capture of this composition is another of your great work. This is not unlike the Rajang sunset pov's composition whereby you substitute the ship with a mosque. It works well.

To perfect this shot and asking for the impossible, it would be nice to see details of the mosque with less darkness?

I note a polarise to reduce glare off the water but which might cut down light by 50%.

A splendid sunset which gives a good back-light of the building. The background with the tone gilded is very pleasant. I like the exotic side of the photograph. Pretty Shaeri glance. For Subird I try a WS and I hope that you will like it too.

You brought some fantastic memories with this photo! It's one of the most beautiful places I 've visited in my life! Your photo is splendid, very atmospheric! Excellent composition, impressive light managment, great "shadow play". Congratulations!

a bit out of focus, the building here, but that does not destroy the overall feeling of presence you have managed to capture. that, and the warm, evening ambience. i like the golden/yellow cast you have chosen.

Shaeri,
not quite sure how I could miss this fantastic image. Something that has probably to do with my two weeks of abscence from TE. Still, the mood that you captured is absolutely worthwhile to be looked into.
Did you use a filter to achieve this yellow? Stunning!
Peter